On heat and inappropriate attire
It has suddenly become very hot. I think I am managing to blend in a little better, my lack of leather jacket being less noticeable now that the new rule of Moscow fashion seems to be 'wear as little as possible'. Dresses come in three styles: short, very short, and transparent. See-through clothing must always be paired with a black thong if worn by anyone under the age of 35. A peculiar type of cheap shiny fabric, which I've never seen before, is popular in shades too bright for the mortal eye to behold. Sequins and nightclub wear are de rigueur for an outing to the supermarket. Similar patterns are assumed to match, even if the colours clash; take, for example, the woman attired entirely in different types of tartan, right down to chewed-up plastic bag she holds on her lap. Curiously however, all this finery barely raises a pulse in its intended audience. A long-legged girl in an outfit sewn under an electron microscope, who would ordinarily attract ogling whistles elsewhere in the world, might as well be wearing a radiation isolation suit – not a single backwards glance. Perhaps it's a case of sensory overload. There are so few eligible Russian men that the competition is correspondingly fierce. Or should that be floral...
